Chapter Fifty-nine: Discoveries and death.

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~~~Azrael Jaesyrian, twelfth moon, 276 AC~~~

~~~Great Red Desert~~~

The journey from Xandar to the Great Red Desert took only two hours, and I decided to glimpse the great green plains below.

One thing I had managed to do was turn the entire territory encompassing Xandar into something much more palatable, which was before, as in most of all of Essos, consisted of dunes, sandy mountains, null or dead trees, a lack of freshwater sources, as well as a hellishly embracing sun.

It was thanks to the topographical changes that had managed to create a new landscape in and around Xandar, with temperatures ranging from an estimated seventeen to twenty degrees, which added to the strong, calm, and dry breezes from the sea, along with the constant cloudy skies, meant that many times the locals had to wear several extra clothes to enjoy the low temperatures.

Something that sounded and looked very strange, considering that they were in Essos, the place that rivaled Dorne in terms of heat.

Instead, once I reached the great Red Desert, I remembered why Essos was known for its torturous climate. The Red Desert, as the stories told, was a vast, almost endless sea of sand, dunes, and red, sandy mountains, which caused life not to last long. Trees and bushes were in just the branches, and there was no trace of ponds, lakes, or water sources.

It was this that surprised me the most about what Daenerys had to go through in the books when she crossed this desert, especially since she had finished giving birth, had burned her husband and child, and was tasked with leading a group of people at the tender age of thirteen. It was complete madness.

Almost every story in this world was similar, embraced by decadence and misery, complete grief.

"What are you looking at?" I heard a voice suddenly, causing me to snap out of my thought world and look at the source of the voice. I saw Isabella holding a hand over her hat to keep the gusting winds from blowing it off.

"I wasn't looking at anything," I replied as I stood up from where I was sitting and approached a part where several chests held fruits.

"Then why was your face long and lost?" she kept talking while I was enjoying a red pear. Red pears were the best; although they tasted bittersweet, their water made them exquisite.

"I was just thinking; besides, just because we've struck up a casual relationship doesn't mean you should tweet me," I told her. During the hours the flight had taken, along with the minutes we were still flying over Endoxes, we talked a lot about our likes and dislikes, but it didn't mean we were friends.

At this point, I didn't trust any women besides witches. Still, they weren't humans, so they didn't count, and after several assassination attempts, I didn't have much of a good feeling about it; moreover, I was still thinking about why I agreed to let her come in the first place.

Of course, my pride as a man was at stake since I couldn't back out once I had already told her she could come.

Along with the fact that something about her, I liked, perhaps it was her pride as well, as well as her strength, which, even if she wanted to hide it by acting like a princess, was not so good at hiding the fact that she stood in front of Endoxes and at no time did she flinch. Even the witches were apprehensive to be around him, though perhaps it was because they did know the dragon's history and what he was capable of.

"And here I thought we had created a friendship," was the response the very shameless one gave me.

[Sesīr bona riñītsos iksis pörek aōha kris, ao sagon rakeghis (even that girl grabs you by the hair, you're pathetic)] was the comment I heard from Endoxes, causing me to look at him sourly.

[Sget bē wiled rīza (shut up, winged lizard)] I replied in altercation to Endoxes, who in retaliation jerked in the air, making it my turn to levitate to avoid falling from the great height we were at.

[Hey, likiri aōla (hey, get a hold of yourself, you idiot)] I reprimanded him, seeing Isabella holding onto her chair as if her life depended on it, which in this case it did.

Isabella's suffering didn't last long when I spotted a ruined city in the distance, which emitted a bone-white glow.

[Tegun va se oktion (lands near the ruins)] I explained to Endoxes, who responded with a roar and began to descend, earning another round of frightened expressions from Isabella.

The descent didn't take long, and once Endoxes landed, I helped Isabella down. At the same time, Valka and other witches approached me after getting off their Wyverns.

"This city is bad; it feels... heavy," Valka commented, looking up at the enormous whitish walls, which, even though they were made of white stone, looked like they would fall with the slightest breeze.

"I know, I feel it too; it's kind of dark," I told her as I started walking towards the city, closely followed by the witches who had accompanied us and Isabella behind me.

Before that, I approached Endoxes and standing in front of him, I made something clear to him, [Īlon'll jikagon inerelka se oktion, umbagon kesīr lēda se wynarns, se kostilus ȳdra daor ipradagon zirȳ iā sȳngagon zirȳ qrīdrughagon (We'll go inspect the city, stay here with the Wyverns, and please don't eat them or scare them away)]

It is worth mentioning that Endoxes stared at me with his big eyes narrowed like slits while I ignored him and continued into the city.

The city was splintered and collapsing, with many parts being swallowed by the desert sands. Once I decided to enter, I saw large chunks of cracked earth with large open chasms in the ground.

Not only that, but numerous bones and rotting shapes were strewn across the ground, and I knew there would be even more inside the city. From what I remembered, I knew that in the Red Desert, there were several cities that, during the bloody century, were attacked, looted, and destroyed by the Dothrakis.

And by the white walls, its buildings are in ruins and close together, and it must have been the abandoned city of Vaes Tolorro.

If I remember well, Daenerys gave it its name, and observing a large number of bones and decaying forms that still had black and rotten flesh on their bones, I understood that its name was justified.

From what we saw as we walked among its narrow roads and winding labyrinthine corridors, the city was built in such a way that it seemed as if it had been constructed in such a way as to make its inhabitants unhappy.

The small pathways, a product of the buildings being tightly packed together, made the heat and embarrassment challenging to bear, with trails of mirages in the distance caused by the sun's rays penetrating the battered buildings.

The heat was so great that, ultimately, I had to ingest a fireproof potion, which, although it was to avoid being damaged by fire, also had the side effect of making its user unaffected by the high temperatures.

Even so, the city showed outstanding architecture and craftsmanship, with Greek-style buildings with large roofs supported by huge columns. Despite the lack of life and the nauseating smell embedded in the air itself, this allowed us to appreciate a certain beauty.

We were surprised to find a group of three strange animals on one of the roads we took.

They walked like primates, moving with the help of their legs, while their long arms kept their balance and allowed them to stand upright.

The 'primates' had extensive fur, large fangs protruding from their mouths, and large eyes on their foreheads.

I was surprised to learn that there was life in this place, which seemed impossible considering that there were no signs of water nearby or food sources to sustain the 'primates.'

Although looking closely, the primates were coming out of a massive cave in front of one of the most significant buildings we had seen, resembling a temple.

The building's domed roof was destroyed, but it retained its original shape. Feeling curious, I started walking towards the cave.

As we approached, the primates became aggressive, so we chased them away. They then ran into the cave, getting lost in its interior.

For our part, we reached the mouth of the cave, although the darkness of its interior did not allow us to glimpse anything inside.

So, unsheathing my enchanted sword, it offered light with its glow, providing enough visibility to place lanterns and thus be able to see better.

With the incoming light, the interior of the cave revealed itself, revealing a huge tunnel leading to a clearing deep inside.

One thing I noticed was that there was wildlife in the cave, in the form of vines and grasses, which hugged the cool walls of the tunnel, along with bugs and small animals lurking about. The cave offered a better environment than the sun-warmed exterior.

Not only that, but the walls were damp, with droplets of water seeping between the cracks.

"Azrael," I heard Isabella behind me once we reached the clearing, causing me to look away from the wet walls and look at the clearing.

The sight that greeted me filled me with equal parts disbelief and awe, as in front of me were mountains of white bones, belonging to soldiers or warriors, why did I know this? Each corpse of bones bore full armor, which, though worn and battered, looked of good quality if they had survived the passage of time.

But without a doubt, a huge skeleton, perhaps measuring more than 350 feet (106 meters) caught the eye and stood out.